In its earnings report released Thursday morning, Novo Nordisk reported a significant bump in sales for its diabetes and obesity drugs. The company also announced plans to bolster its presence in the space via the acquisition of Inversago Pharma. The deal is worth up to $1.07 billion.

Novo’s operating profit grew 32% at constant exchange rates (CER), to $7.2 billion, with North America sales increasing by 44% during the first half of 2023.

Sales within Novo’s diabetes and obesity business — which includes its blockbuster semaglutide products Ozempic and Wegovy — rose 37% at CER, but its rare disease business dropped 18%. The decline reflected “a temporary reduction in manufacturing output,” the company said in a press release.

“The growth is driven by increasing demand for our GLP-1-based diabetes and obesity treatments, and we are serving more patients than ever before,” said Novo Nordisk president and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen in the press statement.

Based on the first- half earnings, Novo increased its full-year 2023 outlook. The company expects sales and operating profit growth at CER to be between 27% and 33% and 31% and 37%, respectively.

Novo’s acquisition of Inversago Pharma will further expand the company’s diabetes and obesity portfolio. Inversago focuses on CB1 receptor-based therapies for metabolic disorders.

Its lead candidate, INV-202, is an oral CB1 inverse agonist being investigated for diabetic kidney disease. INV-202 works by blocking CB1, a receptor protein that is involved in appetite regulation and metabolism.

“This promising class of medicine pioneered by the Inversago team could lead to life-changing new treatment options for those living with a serious chronic disease and… may offer alternative or complementary solutions for people living with obesity,” said Novo Nordisk EVP for development Martin Holst Lange in a statement.

The announcements arrived on the heels of results showing that Wegovy could potentially reduce the risk of cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks and strokes, by 20%. Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial reached its primary endpoint of showing a reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events in people who were given Wegovy or semaglutide 2.4 mg compared to placebo, the company reported this week.

“SELECT is a landmark trial and has demonstrated that semaglutide 2.4 mg has the potential to change how obesity is regarded and treated,” Lange noted in the statement.

Following the results of the SELECT trial, Novo Nordisk said it plans to file for Food and Drug Administration approval of a label indication expansion later this year.